‘Act of tossing balloons is rude, an insult to country’

The Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur was told yesterday that the action by a woman in tossing and dropping yellow balloons from the fifth floor of a shopping complex during an event attended by the prime minister and his wife was rude.

Investigating officer Inspector Izwan Paijan, 35, said the rude act by Bilqis Hijjas, 37, also insulted the country, as well as the organiser of the event.

“The rude act by Bilqis in tossing the balloons during the event was an insult to the country because it was attended by Najib Abdul Razak and wife, Rosmah Mansor, as well as ambassadors from 24 countries,” he added.

Izwan, who is the eighth prosecution witness, said Bilqis’ act drew the ire of the master of ceremony of the ‘DiverseCity 2015: Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festiva’ R Sunita Mei-Lin, 47, as it diverted the public’s attention away from her event.

He was testifying on the sixth day of the trial involving Bilqis, a dancer and the daughter of prominent architect Hijjas Kasturi, who has been charged with insulting behaviour at the Pavilion shopping mall in Jalan Bukit Bintang at 3.15pm on Aug 31 last year.

She is charged under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 and faced a maximum RM100 fine if found guilty.

Bilqis was alleged to have committed the offence at the Pavilion shopping mall in Jalan Bukit Bintang at 3.15pm on Aug 31 last year.

Izwan said a footage of the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) at the shopping complex showed Bilqis blowing and tossing the yellow balloons, with the words ‘Democracy’, ‘Free media’ and ‘Justice’ written in black on them, from the fifth floor of a shopping mall to the back of a screen on the second floor.

“Apart from the CCTV, recording of statements of seven witnesses, including an auxiliary policeman, the organiser and a special officer to the prime minister also found Bilqis doing the act which could disrupt peace in the country.

“We were also afraid and worried that the balloons that were tossed by Bilqis could contain hazardous materials, like poison or explosion,” he added.

During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry, Izwan said the balloons tossed and dropped by Bilqis had connection with the Bersih 4 rally that was held in the Bukit Bintang area a day earlier.

He said that on Aug 28, 2015, the government issued a ban on the wearing of yellow shirt with the words ‘Bersih 4' on it and other printed materials and pamphlets linked to the assembly.

Cross-examined by Bilqis’ lawyer, Eric Paulsen, Izwan agreed with him that the words ‘Democracy’, ‘Free media’ and ‘Justice’ which were written in black, were not insulting words and the event was not disrupted by the balloons.

Magistrate Mohd Faizal Ismail set June 24 to decide on the case and June 17 for both parties to submit their written submissions.

- Bernama